Greetings from Kathmandu, Nepal amidst the monsoon rains.  The Christians here have a special salutation, not the typical Namaste which acknowledges a divine spirit within man that simply does not exist, that can never exist apart from the regenerative work of an indwelling Holy Spirit.  No, the Christians don’t greet one another with this nonsensical term; instead, they bid Jayamashi, which means “victory in the Messiah.”  Yes, my friends, despite all trial, tribulation, peril, and tumult: there is ultimate victory in Messiah, Jesus the Christ:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.  Because He lives, all fear is gone.  Because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives.

Alas, one chapter of this extended missionary journey has come to a close, and another has begun.  Even still, the Lord continues to make provision and abundant opportunity arises to proclaim with boldness the unadulterated Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Thus, your fervent prayers remain coveted.  Many miles have been traveled, and the Word of God has been preached in scores of places since my last post.  The work in Southern Africa came to a climactic conclusion, and now, the work in South Asia has commenced.  To God be the glory!

My last post reported our times in the Olieven Ghetto, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Johannesburg, and wrapped up with a brief recap of how the Lord allowed us to preach atop a big boulder in the Tembisa ghetto and enter into a school, preaching Christ to the young children.  From that point, we hopped a bus south, hooking up with a dear brother, Gary Crous, in Pietermaritzburg.  With our bold partner, Ricky and I preached at an outdoor market in Bulwer; gave out a few tracts in Underberg; and took the Gospel up to Sani Pass in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, distributing tracts and sharing with others in a couple of high-altitude villages.  While Gary and Ricky walked west out the road in search of communities, I attempted to bag Thabana Ntyenlana, the highest peak in Africa south of Kilimanjaro.  After starting late and slogging up a long windswept valley, it became apparent that the goal was simply too far distant for a day’s walk.  As in Ladakh, I found distances to be much farther than they appeared.  Besides, the entire south face was iced over, and I had no crampons.  Thus, I turned west, traversing a long ridge up Tower Point, Mangaunga West, and Mangaunga East: leaving Sesotho-language Gospel tracts in a plethora of shepherds’ huts along the way.  The wind in that forlorn place was ferocious, and snow dusted the ground.  The high barrenness reminded me of Ladakh, Tibet, or California’s White Mountains.  I had never comprehended that Africa could be so high and so cold.  As for the Sesotho people, they are weathered and toughened by the elements, a hard life they live; yet, many seemed open to the Gospel and at least listened as we shared.

Up at Sani Pass, we camped in an old block building while the temperatures outside plummeted to single digits Fahrenheit.  A pack of wild dogs raided our gear, hauling off food, my sandals, socks, a bar of soap, and our supply of Gospel tracts and Bibles.  The next morning, we found Gospel materials strewn all over the ground alongside a mauled copy of God’s Word.  Several hundred meters from our camp, I found my Lonely Planet Guide for Southern Africa laden with teeth marks.  Weird!?!  Fortunately, we were able to salvage most of the Gospel tracts and even ended up giving the mauled Bible to Gary who promised to repair it and give it to someone in need.

Upon returning to Sani Pass after about 25km of traversing Mangaunga, I rendezvoused with the fellas, and we officially exited Lesotho.  The day was waning, and to avoid being stuck in that harsh place another night, we had to get down to the South African border post before 6:00pm.  No rides were forthcoming, so I took possession of all 3 passports and raced down the steep 4WD road with a full backpack.  Having already slogged many miles that day without rest, the endeavor was brutal.  I covered 7km in an hour and twenty minutes, and just 1km shy of the border post, Ricky and Gary, having secured a ride, picked me up.  Needless to say, we got back into South Africa and slept in comfort back at Gary’s pad in Pietermaritzburg.

The next couple of days, we preached in the streets all over Pietermaritzburg: downtown markets, busy street corners, bus stops, and outside The Crowded House Nightclub, a place Gary used to frequent before the Lord radically changed him.  At the latter, the reaction was surprisingly mellow compared to similar venues in America.  The two young women manning the door clearly heard the Gospel; the big Nigerian bouncers did not obstruct our efforts; and one young woman, a paramedic, returned from inside the club to speak more with us.  She was obviously under conviction.

Gary, Ricky, and I also went up to Howick and preached in the markets and right alongside a free outdoor clinic that had been set up to test people for HIV.  I preached that the best way to avoid HIV is to do things God’s way; ‘twas a great bridge to the consequences of sin and the need for the Gospel.  At the nearby Howick Falls Overlook,  a group of Afrikaans students and other onlookers had gathered to behold the impressive and immensely deep waterfall.  We preached the Creator God and the Lord Jesus Christ to them.  All stood in silence and listened; and most received tracts afterward.  An Indian man (There is a significant Indian population in South Africa’s Kwazulu-Natal Province, most descended from tenant farmers who came over from the Subcontinent more than 100 years ago) expressed gratitude for the preaching, claiming to be a “backslidden” Christian.  I explained to Kevin that there is no such thing as a perpetually backslidden believer.  “You must lay aside those sins which easily beset you and cling to Jesus Christ . . . and those that cling to Christ are new creatures.  Old things are passed away, and behold, all things are become new,” I said.  He was under conviction, a divine appointment.

From Pietermaritzburg, we traveled down to the seaside city of Durban and rendezvoused with the Piaters, Vincent (a bold South African brother) and Kelsey (his American wife).  There, over a couple of days, we preached hard and with amplification outside a couple of happening nightclubs and along the beachfront.  There were Muslims, Hindus, Afrikaaners, Zulus, and plenty of young people bound by the vanities of this world.  Many heard.  I was encouraged to see some Indian brothers also out on the beachfront distributing Gospel tracts; and an older Indian believer tracked us down after preaching in front of Joe Cool’s to express her heartfelt gratitude.  We also ministered to some Congolese parking guards after one of them had been stabbed as we walked up, knifed by a South African thug simply because of his ethnic background.  The white apartheid that existed in South Africa a decade or so ago pales in comparison to the racial xenophobia exhibited by many black South Africans today toward Africans of other nations who come down to find honest work.  Many of these labor diligently in jobs that the South Africans won’t do; and South African blacks hate them for it.  Of course, black on black racism is typically buried by the media; for in a politically correct worldview, only white people can be racist.  Anyway, there was a great outbreak of said xenophobia just before the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and the media seemingly ignored horrible atrocities committed by South African blacks against fellow black Africans from Zimbabwe, the Congo, Zambia, Malawi, etc.  We saw an example of this in Durban as a man was stabbed for no reason other than his nationality.  The perpetrator, like the coward that he was, fled into the night.  Fortunately, the blade did not puncture the young Congolese man’s lung.  We stayed with him and his Congolese companions for awhile and prayed with them.  All took tracts and were thankful.  After almost 3 hours, the ambulance finally arrived (the fruit of “political change” in South Africa), and the man was taken to the hospital.  I weep even now as I think of the scene.  May those Congolese men find Christ.  Racism and xenophobia is bred in man’s wicked depravity; we see it here amongst the castes in Nepal everyday.  Thank God that the foot of the cross is level ground and that in Christ Jesus, there is not red, yellow, black, or white.  The Body of Christ, the church, should be a living, breathing example of this for the world.  Unfortunately, we segregate ourselves for worship:  Messianic Jew, Gentile, black, white, Nepali, foreigner . . . Why?  I think of the racial mixture of the house church where Jamie and I worship back home and am thankful for said testimony.

The time in Durban was great, including a sweet time of fellowship with precious believers in a house church.  A winter’s swim in the Indian Ocean with its warm currents was invigorating.  The water was so clean and blue, and the seaside city was surprisingly clean.  After bidding farewell to the Piater’s, Gary drove us back to Pietermaritzburg.  I fell deathly sick, and Gary’s doctor thought it to be malaria, urging me to get a blood test.  Ricky and I were scheduled to travel by bus the next morning up to Nelspruit, so we prayed for healing.  The next morning, after a hot bath, some antibiotics, and good rest: I felt like a new man.  The Lord healed me, and we went on to Nelspruit.

For several days, Ricky and I stayed with a missionary family from his church that lives in Nelspruit.  There, Emmanuel Press, an interesting and encouraging printing ministry, provided us with a supply of Gospel tracts in several languages.  With these in hand, we preached and distributed on the streets of White River, Nelspruit, Badplaas, and Barberton.  Ricky and I also had the great privilege of “illegally” slipping into Mozambique and preaching outside the Lebombo immigration post in both English and Spanish to a bunch of Portuguese speakers.  I trust the Lord used it after the manner in which He used the preaching at Pentecost in Acts 2.  Our last day in that part of South Africa was spent hitching a loop route through northwestern Swaziland, yet another country.  We distributed tracts along the way, at Piggs Peak and at Matsamo.  As a line formed outside an immigration office, Ricky preached boldly.  Swaziland is a wicked place with a polygamous king.  It’s only a little bigger than Connecticut with about 1.1 million people and a 40% HIV rate!  The countryside is rolling and somewhat beautiful if one can ignore the hillsides raped by clear cutting.  Anyway, the AIDS mortality rate in that place is higher than the population growth rate, so at such trends, it won’t be long before Swaziland is without a people.  ‘Tis sad, all the more reason to have preached the Gospel there.

Back in Johannesburg, our time in Southern Africa came to a conclusion as we once again enjoyed several days of sweet fellowship with the Phillips family, some of the most hospitable believers I have ever met in all of my travels.  Our time with these was a true blessing from the Lord.  Redeeming the time, we preached at a busy taxi rank down in East Rand and distributed tracts as we circumnavigated the sidewalks outside a huge mall.  We also were able to provide some Hebrew/English Bibles to the South African Chapter of Jews for Jesus.  They were so grateful and promised to get them into the hands of Jewish people to whom they preach Yeshua HaMessiach.  The timing of this was obviously ordained of the Lord, for the very day the young man came to pick up these materials, he was scheduled for a lunch meeting with an Israeli businessman.  Needless to say, one of those Bibles came in handy.  Our last outing in South Africa was down at Pretoria’s Church Square.  Ricky and I preached on the steps below a big statue of Paul Kruger.  Mrs. Phillips came with us and faithfully distributed Gospel tracts.  Many heard, and I was able to give away our last Bible to a young man who had seen his stolen some time ago.  A pastor from the eastern part of Zimbabwe heard our preaching as he waited for his ride.  He had just arrived from Harare.  This brother expressed gratitude for our boldness and pleaded with us to one day return to Zimbabwe.  If the Lord so wills . . .

From Africa, it was quite a change as we landed late in the humid sultry heat of Mumbai,  India.  Thank God He helped us to talk our way out of a $400.00 excess baggage charge in Joburg.  Later, we weren’t quite so fortunate at the Delhi airport as we prepared to fly to Kathmandu.  Still, God provides.  Anyway, the flight over the Indian Ocean was very rough as the plane dropped in and out of monsoon clouds.  I wondered if I would get to see the Saviour’s face that day.  It wasn’t yet our time.

In Mumbai, we had to overnight before catching a flight to Delhi the next afternoon.  This gave us enough time to preach down along the filthy “landfill-esque” seaside.  I asked a young man about why the beaches were so awful, and he replied, “It’s India.”  How could I have forgotten?  Anyway, I preached on a bench to a bunch of young couples, and later, Ricky preached under a canopy where a small crowd had gathered to escape a monsoon downpour.  Some actually thanked us, and many Hindi tracts went out.  I also ran into several Nepalis, including our airport shuttle driver from the night before.  I was amazed at how the language came back to me and therefore allowed me to communicate Christ.  Several of our Project Jagerna Scripture portions went out to Nepalis both in Mumbai and later in Delhi, including to a young man from Nepal’s Far West, the very unreached area we are targeting with Bishnu.

In Delhi, we spent several days seeking the Lord, and He eventually told us to go on to Kathmandu.  Still, the waiting-period allowed for some good fellowship with an old friend and his family, missionaries to India who were preparing to leave for the States.  We were greatly edified by the fellowship with these and a few other laborers to whom we were introduced.  The Hand of Providence in all of this also connected us with some Bengali brothers from West Bengal, India.  These regularly go out and share Christ to Bengali-speaking people in some of South Delhi’s slums.  One morning, we joined them.  Amazingly, we got into a home and shared for more than an hour as men and boys packed inside to hear.  Later, I insisted upon some open-air preaching in the lanes.  A sizable crowd gathered as I preached with an “Evangecube.”  Again, a plethora of tracts went into the hands of the lost.  Man, that place was filthy, reminded me of horrendous corners of South Dhaka and actually made the shantytowns of Africa seem a little less shanty: horrible filth, trash everywhere, pigs wallowing in open sewage, standing water, mosquitoes, mud, the overpowering smell of urine, etc.  Still, I noticed 2 very strange ironies.  First of all, the women in that place somehow were able to keep themselves clean and beautiful, many with hair that looked like it had been freshly done in a professional salon.  Secondly, just outside the slum area, a huge advertisement praised India for “going green” and promoting a clean environment.  Uhhhh?!?

It was an honor to work with those Bengali brothers, and even now, we are praying about joining them in Malaysia for a couple of weeks this month.  Due to visa regulations, Ricky and I have to be out of Nepal for fifteen days before the end of the year, and Jamie and the children don’t come until September 1st anyway.  These brothers are going down to Kuala Lumpur to hook up with a Nepali pastor.  There, they will be doing some intense evangelism in the Nepali, Bengali, and Bangladeshi neighborhoods that house many who came to Malaysia for work.  Please pray that the Lord works this out.  What an honor it would be to distribute our Project Jagerna Scripture portions to the large Nepali population there in Kuala Lumpur.  After all, our project objective is “Preserving the pure Word of God for the Nepali People [i.e. in all places around the globe] through Translation, Publication, and Distribution.  You can read more about this project HERE.  Please pray that the Lord provides the roundtrip airfare for Ricky and me.  There is a direct flight from Kathmandu to Kuala Lumpur ($524 per person), and housing will be provided for us in Malaysia in the company of some old seminary friends.  Lord willing, we will leave Nepal around August 15th and then return 15 days later in time to rendezvous with my family in Kathmandu.

Back to Delhi:  Ricky and I also preached outside the huge India Gate monument.  A crowd gathered, including some police with AK47’s.  They said or did nothing to stop us.   We also targeted the University of Delhi.  On campus, we found an area where mobs of students were lined up to register outside a row of registration windows.  I was able to lift it up for 10 minutes before security tried to apprehend us.  In that window, Ricky gave out many tracts.  Thankfully, we were able to talk our way out of actual detention and were escorted off the campus.  Still, we stood outside two gates and were able to engage not a few students for a couple of hours in the horrible heat.  I was literally soaked with sweat after preaching for 10-15 minutes. When Ricky finished preaching at our last venue, a young teaching intern approached and implored us to return with him to his dorm room on campus.  There, he said, he would call his friends and have them come hear what we had to say.  We spent a couple of hours there declaring the Gospel to young Hindus very disillusioned with their traditions and religious bondage.  This guy, Deepak, even called up colleagues on his cellphone, his girlfriend included, and asked me to preach to them over the phone.  Three Deepaks (all had the same name) sat in the room with us and asked many questions.  Please pray for them; the Lord was definitely doing something.  The original Deepak also introduced me to a former Gurkha soldier from Nepal and another Nepali-speaker.  I gave these Project Jagerna John/Romans editions with great joy.  Well, they kicked us out of the public forum on the campus, but the Lord drew us back into the same school’s private living quarters at the behest of a teaching intern.  Wow!

For nearly two weeks, Ricky and I have been in Kathmandu; and the transition has been very difficult.  It’s been three years since I was last here, and I am amazed at the changes I now observe, most of them for the worse.  Continued government instability means that the open door to preach the Gospel here could slam shut at any time.  Talk of anti-proselytizing laws or returning to the old constitution is pretty regular these days in political circles.  There is also this “monster” here called the Nepali Church, bred nicely by Western missionaries more concerned with humanitarian aid and “church planting” apart from the preaching of repentance and faith.  This “creature” is quite comfortable in the four walls of a church building and at times reeks of the caste system.  There is little desire or understanding of the church’s responsibility to carry out the Great Commission; and many live in ridiculous fear seemingly lacking a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7).  But, praise God, He always reserves unto Himself a faithful remnant, of which Bishnu and his family are truly a part.  There are others, many perhaps, who have a desire to share their faith but have never been taught.  This, we aim to change while saturating this place with Scriptures, Gospel tracts, and bold open-air preaching as the door is still open to do so.  We need your faithful and persistent prayers over the next ten months.

The Lord has provided us a decent apartment in a good location.  Rent is much higher these days than it used to be.  However, the Lord has provided for the first three months.  Pray that when the time comes, He will provide the rest.  I also had to purchase a motorbike that set us back about $800.00.  Thankfully, I was able to sell my old one and at least get a little out of that clunker.  Right now, Ricky and I are just trying to outfit the place and get it ready for Jamie and the children.  We have hired a precious young believer to come help us cook, clean, and wash clothes.  This is a blessing for us and for her.  Within the next two weeks, Bishnu and I hope to complete our translation work on the Gospel of Mark.  Thereafter, we aim to print a slough of these for outreach.  Pray that the Lord provides printing money over these next ten months.  Right now, our stash is dwindling.  We also hope to translate a couple new tracts and print these in volume as well.  Here in Nepal, one could never have enough Gospel materials.  They go out in droves as most will take them.

With the monsoon rains, we cannot do much right now.  Hopefully, by September, the moisture will have cleared out.  In mid-August, two people from Ricky’s church are coming to spend a month with us and to aid in the outreach.  Fortunately, the Lord provided us a flat where we can house incoming teams.  During said month, we hope to go outside the Kathmandu Valley and do some evangelism training up in Lamjung and down near Chitwan.  Along with this will be ample opportunity for distribution in some villages.  Sometime before the end of the year, Bishnu, Ricky, and I hope to travel out to the remote Baitadi District in Nepal’s Far West, the very place Bishnu has been targeting over the past couple of years.  Pray that the Lord brings this together.  There are only a handful of believers out there who have no one to teach them or lead them in the small gathering in the village of Haat that they call a church. This has to change.  Please pray that the Lord raises up a Nepali brother of strong faith and instruction in the Scriptures who is willing to go out there and serve those feeble believers.  So many who are capable are unwilling because of their comfort-zone “churchianity” here in Kathmandu.  It’s shameful, not only is the American Church accountable before God for it’s own Laodicean Churchianity; it’s also accountable for the Laodicean Churchianity it has perpetuated in believers of other nations.  Several years ago, I wrote these words concerning Nepal:

In many Nepali churches, unbiblical traditions have assumed precedence over Scriptural truth, false doctrine runs wild, and church leaders are known for dictatorial dominance over their flocks (in direct disobedience to I Peter 5:3). With regard to the latter, the average Christian will not evangelize and/or seek to plant new churches because he has been led to believe by his “clergy” that he is not qualified to do so. There is a “churchianity” that festers in Nepal, and reformation is desperately needed. Ultimately, this is a result of biblical ignorance amongst average Nepali Christians. Many do not own their own personal copy of the Bible, so these are apt to be easily deceived by false teachers and false traditions. Unbiblical traditions and false doctrines in the churches must be battled with the pure Word of God. True reformation can only come when the laity are able to personally compare what they have been taught with the very words of Scripture. It behooves us to mass produce an accurate, readable, and pure translation of the Holy Scriptures into Nepali and to do everything in our power to get this into the hands of every Nepali Christian. The printing and mass distribution of the pure Scriptures brought reformation to Roman Catholic-dominated Europe in the Dark Ages. We believe that the same can happen in Nepal.

The same holds true today, perhaps more so.  We have our work cut out for us; your prayers are coveted.

A couple of days ago, it was edifying to go with Bishnu out to Kalanki Chowk, a busy intersection where the road heads out of Kathmandu Valley.  Many buses are there, and they are headed for many places all over Nepal.  Needless to say, it’s a good place to do distribution where people are preparing for countless hours on a rickety bus.  Ricky preached boldly in the street as Bishnu translated.  Later, the Lord gave me great favor to preach in Nepali, a language I hadn’t spoken regularly in three years.  I spoke of the Creator, the Fall of Man, the Law of God, repentance, the person and work of Jesus Christ, and the coming judgment.  Bishnu, of course, was very bold in his preaching; and I gave glory to God for having given me such a faithful partner in ministry.  A plethora of Gospel tracts (i.e. that I had written and Bishnu had translated) went into the hands of those preparing for a long journey.  We were passing them out in the streets, through the bus windows, etc.  Many stopped to listen to the preaching.  One young man grew hostile with us, but people in the crowd started to rebuke him.  Before I knew it, several Christians began preaching to him and others.  I was amazed to see these emboldened by our example and to thank us with grave sincerity.  An elderly believer even gave us some ice-cold mineral water, quite a sacrifice, I’m sure, for him.  I was reminded of Mark 9:41 and praised the Lord for the encouragement in this small gesture.  All in all, ‘twas an uplifting way to get things started here in Nepal, something we definitely needed to assuage the discouragement and depression we have been battling since our arrival. 

This Friday, we hope to preach outside the local mosque and then down at Ratna Park.  I am sure more than a thousand Gospel tracts will easily go out.  Keep us in prayer; Ratna Park can turn ugly, and I have seen it do so.

Before finally wrapping up this long update, let me entreat your prayers for three specific matters:

1.  Please pray for an open door and traveling mercies for Jamie and the children to come to us the first of September.  They were supposed to come August 3rd, but American Airlines suddenly blacked out the entire month of August for guest travel (they will be traveling as guests of some employees, a huge financial blessing).  We tried to get them on a flight at the end of July, but everything was overbooked, and I didn’t want to risk them getting stuck in Chicago.  Anyway, it was of the Lord as I never would have wanted to bring them into this insane environment without at least some stability already in place.  Just pray that they can get here safely.  They will have to overnight in Delhi and there buy plane tickets for Kathmandu.  My visa won’t allow me to return to India so soon, nor can I afford it, but God has provided a missionary family who is going to pick them up at the airport and help them in all matters regarding the transition.  This, my friends, is a wonderful provision.  Traveling alone with three small children will be difficult; Jamie will need the prayer cover.  September 1st seems so distant.  I miss my family, but this is a cup the Lord is making me drink for the time being.  May I endure.

2.  Please pray for Bishnu’s wife, Bimu.  She is pregnant with her third child and is having complications.  The doctor has ordered bed rest even though she is only 3-4 months along.  The Shrestha’s have already lost one child, and the births of the other two were likewise fraught with health complications.  This is a trying time for them and in terms of Bishnu’s availability for the work of the Gospel.  They need your prayers.

3.  Finally, lift up Ricky before the Father.  He is here to help us for the duration and is truly stepping out in faith.  His funds are almost completely depleted, and he needs to come up with $100/month rent, funds for a roundtrip plane ticket to Malaysia (about $525), and basic living expenses.  We have been trying to get some reimbursement from Greyhound for the bag that was stolen from him back in July, but the battle has been long and hard with no return as of yet.  Just pray for divine provision for him.  Again, as a young man having left North America for the first time and having left all for the Gospel, he is walking by faith and not by sight.  His presence with me has been a huge help to the work and will continue to be so.  Remember, “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” (I Corinthians 9:14).

In response to several requests for information, I reluctantly offer these words: If the Lord should lay it upon your heart to financially support Ricky, Bishnu’s family, Project Jagerna printing, or the work in general, first pray with fervor to insure that said desire is from the Lord.  Checks can be made out to Full Proof Gospel Ministries and mailed to the post office box noted in the right sidebar.  Remember that all contributions are tax-deductible, and you will receive a deductible-giving receipt at the end of the calendar year.  Contributions can also be made online via Paypal.  Just be sure to note if any contribution is for Ricky, Bishnu, the printing, etc.  I will make sure it gets to the appropriate place.  Thanks for your consideration in this matter.  Full Proof Gospel Ministries commits to use all support to aid the public proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the printing and mass distribution of the Word of God, and/or for the training of believers in the needful work of Great Commission evangelism; not for creature comforts, manmade strategies, or complex platforms that become an end in and of themselves.

Well, I better sign off.  I look forward to keeping you posted from the front lines here in South Asia.  Moreover, I am excited to see how the Lord answers your prayers on our behalf.  For “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). Also, many thanks to those of you who have supported us along this missionary journey heretofore. There have been many unexpected provisions already, and your efforts, by default, make you partners in these goings forth of the glorious Gospel of a glorious Saviour. Thanks for your obedience to the Lord and for helping to hold the ropes.

For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,

Jesse Boyd